A plethora of Gothic artwork and screenshots for Tomb Raider

We have been told to forget everything we know about Lara Croft, because the next iteration in the series is to be a different beast altogether, and the incredible new assets that arrived in our inbox today are certainly giving credence to that statement.

The mood is extremely Gothic and we’re preparing ourselves for something close to a survival horror game. Lara appears to be underground, and some of these images remind us of the claustrophobic horror film The Descent – a possible influence?

With it being so dark, Lara has to carry a torch through some of the caves. She looks battered, bruised and blood-soaked, and one picture has her hanging upside down, tied in a filthy sheet; another has her being beaten by a scavenger, whose face is disguised by the shadows, while another shows a sacrificial ceremony, with Lara’s companion as the sacrifice.

Lara has always been a dominant and charismatic figure in previous Tomb Raider games, you always felt like she was on top of the situation, but here she looks vulnerable and threatened. She still has her guns, as you can see from the artwork, but overall her armoury looks decidedly less high-tech than normal: a bow and arrow, a pick-axe and what looks to be a machete on her back. We suspect the pick-axe will also be a handy platforming tool.

After the disappointment of Underworld, Crystal Dynamics need to do something radical to bring back the spark, and it is clear from these screenshots and artwork that the team are taking chances here. And you know what? We like what we see….